God was merciful that day
by max.tmy
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke first meet at the academy grounds, when one of them is being beaten to a pulp and the other has no choice but to intervene. A collection of remarkable incidents that follow after this meeting in a series of chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_God was merciful that day. Chapter-1:  
_

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Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke first meet at the academy grounds, when one of them is being beaten to a pulp and the other has no choice but to intervene.

It's not a life-changing moment –they don't even speak to each other afterwards. It's not startling either, since Naruto is used to people ignoring him and Sasuke hates it when they don't.

They are, however, pleasantly surprised to find each other in the same class the next day.

For a week, Naruto observes Sasuke from his kingdom at the back of the classroom. He observes how Sasuke is always alone and how he is always brooding. He listens to the girls' squeals and the rumors about the Uchiha massacre and comes to a quick decision.

"Yo. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He says, cornering Sasuke one day after class, "and I have decided to be your best-friend."

Sasuke doesn't even blink at him. "I don't _need_ friends."

"Why not?" Naruto demands.

"I don't have time to waste." The black haired boy tilts his head and scowls at a tree, "I have to kill somebody."

Even the Sandaime gets nervous and admonishes him whenever he says this.

But Naruto nods sagely and agrees, "I know. Sometimes you just _have_ to."

They look at each other.

"Who though?" Naruto asks, "And why?"

Sasuke is silent for so long, Naruto begins to wonder if he has heard.

"A bad person..." Sasuke answers finally, "he killed my clan."

"Must be powerful to kill all of them," Naruto opinions, "but, don't worry! When I'll become Hokage I'll help you kill him. He's going _down_, dude!"

Sasuke startles, "You will help?" he whispers.

He doesn't mean to whisper, but his voice has disappeared. He feels that rush of fear again, the stark reality of being _alone_ and the raw helplessness to change it. He's eight and he's never been on his own in his entire life and he's not certain of anything anymore and his heart _burns_ to see his mother just _one_ last time.

"Of course I will!" Naruto declares, "It's what best-friends do! They fight for each other and they live for each other and- get this- they even _die_ for each other."

Sasuke is doubtful of this, but the boy looks like he knows what he's doing, so Sasuke nods tentatively.

That's all the confirmation Naruto needs, before he grabs the other boy and drags him away to the ramen place which he says is the best in the world-no seriously.

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_Chapter 2 coming up. please review, dear reader._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter-2:

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"Idiot."

"Bastard!"

Sasuke's fist flies and Naruto ducks easily. They finish an exhausting bout of taijutsu and have just about enough energy to breath.

Sasuke contemplates.

Naruto is easily the most appalling and impressive person he has ever met.

There is a curiously unignorable quality about Uzumaki Naruto.

(He absolutely _refuses_ to be a background, a bit player.)

By now, everyone in Konohagakure is aware of him, and the _Hokage_ takes tea with him on most days.

"_I'm afraid your common sense is starting to resemble a baked potato, Naruto-kun."_

"_Hokage-ojisan! You are barking mad! Come on, Sasuke! Ignore him!"_

(It is all very different from having a perfect brother.)

Naruto makes things better with his insane plans and obnoxious declarations, always aimed at getting a smile out of Sasuke.

Nobody will shield Sasuke anymore, this he realizes painfully. And now, with startling clarity he realizes that nobody is there to shield Naruto either.

Sasuke is not oblivious to the village's hate towards his friend and wonders why, but Naruto shrugs easily and laughs without a care.

Still, it makes him anxious.

"We have to watch each other's back," Sasuke mutters, laying on his back and staring at the sky, "I'm certain best-friends are meant to do that too."

Beside him, Naruto sits on the swing and hums absently, and sews their ripped shirts and doesn't seem to be too overly worried about anything.

Perhaps it is because the idiot is busy invading Sasuke's life and turning it upside down.

Sasuke scowls and drops the subject.

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_Review, dear reader :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter-3

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Nothing is ever scheduled, yet they are constantly together.

Sometimes, they skip school and get lost in the wilderness, because they can and nobody is there to stop them.

And sometimes, Sasuke ends up on Naruto's apartment floor, asleep in a spare futon.

(When the nightmares get worse and sleep is impossible, they huddle under the blankets, on the tiny bed, facing each other and make up elaborate stories about the brave prince and the evil war-lord. They don't know what to do with the princess though, as both agree that girls are weird and silly and giggle at everything.)

Naruto borrows his clothes shamelessly and without asking, and various orange _things_ turn up in Sasuke's home at the oddest of places.

Sasuke mourns his family every second, but Naruto is loud and distracting and right _there_, and Sasuke doesn't want to die anymore.

His heart still burns for his mother...and he cannot look at his reflection without breaking things or eat cabbage without vomiting his guts out.

But, there is purpose in his movements and his sleep is better.

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_Review, dear reader :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter-4:

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After the incident with the hidden scroll and Mizuki-sensei, they learn to be wary of strangers.

"I always knew he was up to no good," Sasuke mutters (after he is done breaking Naruto's bones and shoving a fistful of grass into his mouth for believing a traitor and running amuck. It is the first time he's come close to losing Naruto and it leaves him feeling alert and wild.)

"Like fuck you did," Naruto replies, black-eyed but grinning like a mental patient, because hell- they just made genin and have a forbidden technique at their disposal and just you watch world, no one can stop them now!

They train relentlessly.

Sasuke learns the Kage-bunshin jutsu in just a few hours. He teaches Naruto the shadow shuriken. They create clones and spar, and learn to manipulate weapons and clones and chakra to the maximum.

By the end of the week, Naruto is pleased with the burst of power surging through their veins.

(But it isn't enough. It _still_ isn't enough.)

Unless he is mistaken, and instinct told Sasuke he is not, an additional need required to be covered.

The Sharingan.

(Kekkai –Genkai was all. It was everything.)

With Naruto's help, they break into the Uchiha archives and raid all the jutsus.

They train whole days and well into the nights, stopping only when the body collapses in sheer exhaustion.

_"Study every detail, Sasuke_," _Itachi taunts in his dreams, with burning red eyes looming to devour him,_ "_There's always something you can use to kill me_."

"SASUKE! Open your eyes, teme!"

_"So right, Sasuke," Itachi winds around him, "the scent of blood so deceptive and right.."_

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke jumps. The veins in his throat throb from screaming, his chest heaves heavy and his eyes were wet with crimson for the first time.

_**His eyes were crimson.**_

The red at first is peaceful. Then frightening. Bewildering and appalling.

Until Naruto exclaims, shattering the silence, "Fuck, Sasuke!" That's fucking cool!"

Sasuke blinks and nods his head.

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_Review, dear reader :)_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter-5:

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"Who _names_ their kids _scarecrow_?" Naruto demands, incredulous.

Sasuke raises his eyebrows and thinks that's pretty rich coming from someone whose name literally means a fishcake.

_A_ _Fishcake!_

"And did you see his hair?" Naruto continues, "And the mask? Did you see he was reading porn!" Naruto stops and turns to glare at Sasuke, "Are you even _listening_?"

"Yes, dobe," Sasuke responds, systematically cutting tomatoes, carrots and fresh beans, "You are whining."

"I am not!" Naruto opens and closes his mouth several times like a guppy fish, "...I'm just voicing a _manly_ complaint."

Sasuke smirks in amusement and turns to add oil and vegetables into the pan.

"But you know," Naruto pinches his nose and grumbles, "Old-man Hokage's gone _senile_! Making a bastard pervert our sensei!"

Sasuke stirs the vegetables and adds rice into the pan. He nods and smirks again, "how do you know its porn he's reading and not geography?"

Naruto scowls, "Geography books don't come with a underage warning, Sasuke."

Sasuke places dinner on the table and settles down across of his friend, "I'm more worried about this survival test he mentioned."

They eye each other in trepidation.

"Probably something to do with mind-fucking," Naruto says finally, adding an alarming amount of chilli flakes into his broth, "he pretended to fall for my duster prank just to make sure we under-estimate him."

Sasuke bites his spiced tomato and murmurs, "Probably thinks we're clumsy punks. _He_ under-estimates _us_ already."

They both swallow and smirk at each other.

"Hatake Kakashi is in for a surprise then, eh?" Naruto says slowly and Sasuke can only agree.

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_Review, dear reader :)_


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